ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The University of New Mexico volleyball team saw many different faces on the court Saturday afternoon as it swept Bethune Cookman 3-0 by scores of 25-13, 25-18 and 25-14 for its second win at the MCM Elgegante Lobo Invitational.
“Overall, it was good,” said head coach Jeff Nelson. “We got everyone in the match, which is good. Get them some court time and get them over nerves and things like that.”
Nelson used 14 of players in the sweep. Sophomore Lise Rugland took over the setting duties for the Lobos in the second set and led the team for the match in assists with 20. Nelson used a different combination at the net with sophomores Devanne Sours on the right side, usually an outside hitter, and Cassie House on the outside, both making an impact in the match. The two tallied a combined seven kills for the three sets.
Redshirt junior Elsa Krieg and freshman Victoria Spragg were the Lobos middles for the match. The two also combined for seven kills. Newcomer Eastyn Baleto also received time in the back row as she picked up three digs in the final two sets.
“We got some good play from Victoria Spragg out in the middle, a freshman got to play three sets and also a pretty good couple of sets in the middle. I thought we blocked the ball well again and we’ve been doing that well all year.”
The Lobos came out a little slow in the first set. Bethune Cookman worked its way back into the match with the Lobos leading 13-10 but New Mexico picked up its game and finished on a 12-3 run. In that span of time, senior Chantale Riddle and Julia Warren collected two kills apiece. The Wildcats made many mistakes as well, hitting zero in the first two sets.
Warren led the Lobos in kills with nine while Ashley Kelsey led the back row with seven digs. “I felt we got some great performances. We passed the ball well. Ashley Kelsey and Julia Warren both played well in the backcourt. Julia Warren had a great match overall (and) led in points.”
New Mexico worked out kinks in the second set with the new mix of Lobos on the floor. Once those kinks were worked out the Lobos took control of the rest of the match, going on 10-4 run in the second set and a 12-5 run in the third to finish the match.
“We felt like we were a little bit sloppy. We actually talked about that at halftime, too, just playing cleaner volleyball. We knew we were going to be doing some different lineups. But we needed to play a little cleaner and I thought they went back out a did a good job of that.”
The Lobos improve to 4-4 on the season. They will finish up the MCM Elegante Lobo Invitational Saturday evening at 7:30 p.m. at Johnson Center.
“Irvine is a good team. Traditionally they are always a good team. We’ve played them in the past and have had good matches with them and they’re well coached. I think it’ll be a great match tonight. I think we’re a little more physical at the net, but I think they play really good volleyball. So it’s going to be a fun match.”